In Another Life

Rifiuto: Non Mirenra

Summary: In another life, she'd been his. In another life, she'd taken his name, worn his ring. In another life, she'd had his children, she'd lived in Eureka, been Carter's deputy, the Head of GD Security... An accident causes Zane to be thrown into a world where he and Jo never meet, where Eureka was never part of the equation, where Zane had never held Jo's heart, let alone loved her...

A/N: This story was written and finished long before I wrote anything else. It'll just take time for me to upload.

"The last thing I'm going to do is let you go down and try to get control of some God damn psychotic experiment! Our children need their mother, and I won't risk you! I've nearly lost you before, I won't do it again. If I lost you- it'd kill me, Jojo. I can't survive this life without you in it. I won't."

His head hurt, not the throbbing pain of a hangover, nor the dull ache of a headache, but the sporadic bursts of pain that come from a blow to the head right after consciousness returns. Moments passed, before he pushed himself onto his elbows and looked around. This wasn't the forests of Oregon, nor the town square of Eureka. He sat up, and slowly climbed to his feet, holding the back of his head.

"I need to talk to Jojo about our boxing workouts. I'll be lucky if Allison doesn't tell me I need stitches." He stopped, removed his hand from the back of his head. No blood, so that was a good thing. But then his gaze caught sight of something else- there was no wedding ring on his left hand. No gold band, no family heirloom- for Jo had given him her father's ring- nothing that identified him as her husband. He quickly checked his jacket pockets before checking the area around where he stood, in case it fell off. He turned up nothing.

He sat heavily on a nearby bench, head in his hands. "Okay, if it's not here, then I need to retrace my steps. Portland's a big city, I can't have gone far." He muttered; he and Jo had talked about taking the kids and going up to Portland for a weekend. And then he looked up and actually looked around. This didn't look like Portland. In fact, it didn't look like any city in the United States. Slowly, he climbed to his feet and made his way towards the park's exit, holding his head again. But he stopped when he saw the historical marker sitting by a nearby lightpost.

Stanley Park was built in eighteen-eighty-eight...

Confusion tugged at him. Isn't that... in... Vancouver? It was then that he realized how dark it was, how the night seemed to surround him. How had he not missed this? Maybe because of the stars you were seeing, brainiac?

He shook his head, reaching into his pocket to call Jo when voices stopped him. He froze, before slipping behind a nearby bush. "It's right in front of us!" Zane could hear footsteps as well as voices. "We keep missing it!" Another voice could be heard, in response to the first, followed by someone dialing a phone. "Hey... yeah... no it... yeah, we missed it... uh huh... yeah, have Toby check the calculations tomorrow... yeah, I... I know... I... I'll be home soon, babe... I love you too. See you soon."

"How'd she take it?" The first voice sighed.

"Not well."

"I'm slowing you down, Cross. You need someone out here who can keep up with you." The second replied; he seemed to be gasping for air. "What you need is that pretty young wife out here chasing after these things with you."

"You're doing fine. We're in this together... be out when she gets her strength back up. That rabies bite took her down pretty hard. Hospital for a week."

The other voice chuckled. "I need a drink."

"Single malt? I'm buying."

"The hell you are..." The two voices disappeared, and deeming it safe, Zane slipped out from behind the bushes.

The door slammed closed, and she dropped her book, climbing out of bed and making her way downstairs towards the living room. The kitchen light flicked on, and she heard the coffee start to brew. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed of her chest as she watched him, taking in the curve of her husband's firm backside, and the tousled mess of his black hair as he leaned against the counter. Slowly, she shuffled towards him, reaching out and running her hand over his back.

"Not a good night?" He glanced over his shoulder at her before turning in her arms and wrapping his around her waist.

"Not really. We missed it again. It keeps disappearing on us. How was your night?" He asked, brushing a hand up her back. She shrugged.

"Took my antibiotics, slept for an hour or... three... been reading... how's Drake doing?" He sighed.

"He says he's slowing me down. Said that... I need my pretty young wife out chasing them with me." She chuckled, giving him a small smile. "But not until you're better." She reached up, brushing her fingers over his cheek. The stubble was rough against her skin, but she loved it.

"I should be fine enough for work tomorrow. Would you stop worrying? Please?" He sighed, and nodded, resting his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry, I just... you scared me. I nearly lost you." She scoffed, but ran her hands over his shoulders and around his neck.

"A rabies bite from a racoon while I'm chasing after an anomaly? Honey, that doesn't even place on the Scale of Strange and Freakish." She said, a smile tugging at her lips. He chuckled, pressing a firm kiss to her forehead before capturning her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. He felt her legs wrap around his waist when he lifted her into his arms, and she tightened her arms around his neck as he became lost in her kiss, all thoughts of anomalies gone.